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by Cathy Laurenzi
GRI, SRES®, REALTOR®, Broker
Most people who move into a condo for retirement do so because they are tired of having to keep up with a yard and worry about a big bill when the roof needs to be replaced or the house needs to be repainted. If you are downsizing from a single-family home to a condominium, you’ll be happy to know that there are probably additional savings you haven’t thought of. Below is a list of the top ones but keep in mind you will be paying a monthly maintenance fee. So, the idea is to compare the average monthly value of these savings to the amount of your monthly maintenance fee.
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When you live in a condominium, the condo association should carry insurance on the building so you as a condo owner will only have to purchase insurance for the contents of your unit. Unlike renters insurance though, your unit’s contents include the cabinets, flooring, fixtures, etc. This type of insurance is often referred to as “walls in” coverage. Even if you include decent liability coverage in the policy, you’ll find that you are paying a lot less than you did in a single-family home.
These savings are pretty obvious, but let’s discuss them anyway, just to be sure you’ve thought of all of the things this encompasses.
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Most condo complexes in Florida include pest control services in their monthly fee. When you are sharing walls with other people, it’s in everyone’s best interest to be sure that no one has a bug problem! But in addition to saving on interior pest control, you won’t have to pay for a termite bond or costly termite treatments.
This doesn’t apply to everyone, but if the home you own or are thinking of buying has a pool, then really consider the costs carefully. There are so many cost components to maintaining and running a pool and when you live in a condo those costs are shared by all of your neighbors!
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If you’ve ever owned a home, you know that there is no end to what can go wrong and what needs upkeep. With a condo, your maintenance responsibilities don’t completely go away but they are limited to just the interior of the home. And some interior things like the main plumbing lines that are shared, are also covered by the condo association. So think about the money you’ll ultimately save on the following things:
Here’s one that most people don’t think about.. You will pay considerably less in electric bills when it comes to cooling your home, and in Florida, use of the AC is the most significant contributor to the electric bill. If there is another condo unit above you and to the sides of you, you are very well insulated! Much more so than you could possibly be in most single-family homes. If you own an end unit or top floor condo, expect to pay more in electricity than some of your neighbors, but you’ll still be paying less than you would in a single-family home or townhouse. Note: The savings I’m discussing here apply to condominiums where the building has multiple floors with multiple units per floor. Although there are other types of condominiums, most are this style.
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Numbers 7 and 8 won’t apply to all condominiums because not all condo associations provide water and/or cable. Of the two, water is the one most often provided because having individual water meters for each unit can be cumbersome. But when you are out condo shopping, be sure to find out whether basic cable and internet are included as these can be costly in some areas.
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As mentioned in the first paragraph, most of the things on this list are still being paid for by you but instead of being paid directly they are being paid for through your monthly (or quarterly) condo fee. However, there should be significant savings in most of these items because you are sharing the costs with your neighbors. And typically, the larger the condominium, the bigger your savings. One last thing to remember, is the comparison of your savings to the monthly fee is only a good comparison if the condo association is doing a good job or putting part of the monthly fees away in reserves so that when something such as the roof needs to be replaced, the money is already there. If they aren’t putting enough money in reserves then you will be forced to pay a special assessment which you may not have budgeted for. Click here to learn more about how to review condo association financials.
